the scenery view of landscape of Milford Sound, the most popular and famous place for tourist and traveling in South New Zealand
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Les visites guidées

Sifflez dans les Marlborough Sounds et un bellbird peut répondre. Des randonnées en autonomie en Nouvelle-Zélande, des plages dorées d'Abel Tasman à la côte sud de Fiordland.

Points forts

  • Traversez l'Inlet d'Awaroa à marée basse.
  • Goûtez les moules Greenshell fraîches des Sounds.
  • Repérez des phoques à fourrure, des wekas et, avec un peu de chance, des dauphins d'Hector.
  • Commencez à Ship Cove, où le capitaine Cook a passé la plupart de ses journées en Nouvelle-Zélande.
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View onto Otuwhero Inlet in Abel Tasman National Park during sunset and low tide on a clear summer day (South Island, New Zealand)

L'île du Sud à pied

Nos visites à pied autoguidées de la Nouvelle-Zélande suivent des sentiers aux deux extrémités de l'île du Sud.

À l'extrémité nord, la tradition māori voit les Marlborough Sounds comme la proue sculptée de la pirogue de Māui. Plutôt que de ramer par le long chemin, les Māoris transportaient leur waka par voie terrestre entre les sons, à travers des cols bas. Le Queen Charlotte Track en traverse un à Torea, près de Portage, une baie nommée d'après cette pratique.

À l'ouest des Sounds, une campagne contre l'exploitation forestière a conduit à la création du parc national Abel Tasman, ouvert en 1942, 300 ans après que Tasman ait jeté l'ancre dans Golden Bay/Mohua. Les routes n'atteignent le sentier côtier qu'à proximité des deux extrémités, donc entre les deux, vous marchez ou prenez un bateau.

À l'extrémité sud, Tuatapere a vécu du bois jusqu'en 1984, lorsque la plupart de ses scieries ont fermé. La réponse de la ville a été un sentier de randonnée. Des bénévoles ont aidé à construire le Hump Ridge Track, consacrant environ 30 000 heures, et il a ouvert en 2001 à la limite sud de Fiordland.

HASSLE-FREE

We handle itineraries, accommodations, and anything else you prefer not to deal with, so you can enjoy a carefree hike.

BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE

We are a financially protected company, fully bonded and insured, keeping your money safe and allowing you to travel with confidence.

TRIED & TESTED ADVENTURES

We picked each walk only after checking it stage by stage, from the boat timetables to the lodge at each stop.

SUPPORT ON THE TRACK

Our support number is in the guidebook we give you, for a missed boat or a change of plan. In an emergency, dial 111, free from any phone.

Questions fréquemment posées

Not on these walks. You go as your own party, with our guidebook to hand, on tracks marked from end to end. On the Queen Charlotte, the one turn to watch is at Torea Saddle.

Most days have a fixed point or two: a boat to catch, or a low tide to wait for. The swims and long lunches fit around them.

New to it? Self-guided walking, explained.

None of them needs scrambling, and age matters less than walking fitness. In order of effort:

  1. The Abel Tasman is the gentle one, with short stages and small climbs

  2. The Queen Charlotte's longest day is about 8 hours, and mountain bikers share the track

  3. The Hump Ridge climbs 890 m on its first day, from the beach to the first lodge. The Hump Ridge Track Trust, which runs it, asks for moderate to high fitness and advises training first

Each walk is rated from 1 to 5 for fitness and for technical difficulty. Our Hiking Difficulty Guide says what each number means.

Always under a roof, never in a tent or a public hut. The rooms change with the track:

  • Queen Charlotte: your own room and bathroom, in lodges with a restaurant and a bar

  • Abel Tasman: a room with its own bathroom at a lodge inside the park, after a B&B at the park entrance

  • Hump Ridge: shared bunk rooms for four or eight in the Trust's two lodges. Bathrooms are shared, and hot showers cost extra. A pillow and blanket are supplied; bring or hire a sleeping bag

Twin or double on the Queen Charlotte or the Abel Tasman? Let us know.

Breakfast comes with your Abel Tasman rooms, and dinner there is paid on the spot. Queen Charlotte lodges sell breakfast, dinner and packed lunches. On the Hump Ridge, every walker gets free porridge in the morning.

Hump Ridge walkers cook their own meals in the lodges' shared kitchens, on gas. Bring food from Tuatapere, or buy meal kits in the lodge shops. Because they hold a liquor licence, the Hump Ridge lodges allow no outside alcohol.

Queen Charlotte bags travel by boat each walking day. The boat pass covers one bag per person. Bags can get wet between boat and jetty, so pack yours in a waterproof liner.

Abel Tasman water taxis serve every stage, and each fare carries one bag of up to 20 kg.

Hump Ridge walkers carry their own pack, usually 10–14 kg, so bring one of 40–50 litres. On the first walking day, a helicopter can lift a bag of up to 10 kg to the first lodge, as an optional extra. It flies on Mondays and Thursdays, subject to availability. Drop the bag at the Trust's office in Tuatapere by 8 am.

Getting to the trailhead town is up to you, and we plan the walk around your arrival:

  • Nelson, for the Abel Tasman: direct flights from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, then about an hour by road to Mārahau

  • Picton, for the Queen Charlotte: the Interislander ferry from Wellington takes 3.5 hours. Or fly to Blenheim, 30 minutes' drive away

  • Queenstown, Te Anau or Invercargill, for the Hump Ridge: the Trust's shuttle runs to Tuatapere if you book ahead. Queenstown has direct flights from Australia

On the combined walk, Nelson to Picton is about 2 hours by road.

February fills first. The Queen Charlotte lodges at Endeavour Inlet can be full for mid-February four months ahead. For December and January, write as soon as you know when you're coming. The sooner your dates reach us, the more choice you have.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) sells the Great Walk huts and campsites, and on the Abel Tasman they must be booked all year round. Our walks sleep in lodges instead, so you need no DOC booking.

Australian citizens need no visa or NZeTA: a passport is enough.

Australian permanent residents and US and UK travellers need an NZeTA, New Zealand's electronic travel authority. Request it before you fly and allow 72 hours. It lasts two years. US and UK visitors pay the International Visitor Levy with it. On an NZeTA, your passport must be valid for 3 months after you leave New Zealand.

On arrival, declare used hiking boots and outdoor gear on the free NZ Traveller Declaration, and clean your boots before you fly. Undeclared outdoor gear can earn an instant NZD 400 fine, even for an honest mistake.